ImmunoSpectrum

Tackling racial and gender equity in Immunology

ImmunoDiverse

Mission statement:
Our goal is to create an anti-racist and welcoming environment for people from underrepresented minorities (URM) recognizing that these barriers primarily disenfranchises individuals of Black, Latinx, and Native American descent.

Key Initiatives:
• Community Education in learning about structural and personal racial biases
• Representation - increasing the URM faces across faculty, fellows and trainees
• Partnership with MSIs and HBCUs to uplift high school, undergrad, and post-grad URMs
• Sponsorship of URMs across levels towards academic success
• Celebration of the rich scientific contributions from our URM colleagues

Efforts to advance DEI will benefit all URM scientists that are/become affiliated with ImmunoX, however we recognize that Black individuals face a unique and historical set of barriers. We cannot overlook or dismiss that momentum to improve DEI was spurred by the murders of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and countless other Black lives. We would not have initiated these conversations across our community without the resistance of generations of Black leaders, followed by the impetus of the Black Lives Matter movement that mobilized following the murder of Trayvon Martin. This movement has paved the way for difficult conversations on systemic racism within academia.

Any DEI efforts/actions that result from this initiative must explicitly state ImmunoX's commitment to highlighting and uplifting Black individuals. We cannot talk about recruitment without first ensuring that ImmunoX is visible at historically black colleges to predominantly Black high schools and community colleges in the Bay Area. We cannot talk about retention without ensuring that once Black individuals are at UCSF, there are mechanisms in place that support and uplift their voices. We also acknowledge the additional barriers at the intersectionality gender and race. Therefore, we will make sure that our Plan of Action amplifies the voices of women URMs in our community.

Tiers of commitment:
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1. ImmunoDiverse allies: Anyone with a vested interest in learning about, participating in, and/or supporting our initiatives.
2. ImmunoDiverse Leadership: Ideating, spearheading, and communicating ImmunoDiverse initiatives
            • ImmunoX Faculty Leadership Team: Tiffany Schardschmidt, Jeron Roose, Mark Ansel, Oscar Aguilar, Roberto Ricardo-Gonzalez.
            • ImmunoX Trainee Leadership Team (PostDocs, Graduate students, and SRAs): Dara Fonseca, Kevin Ly, Celeste Garza, Molly Bassette, Maya Lopez-Ichikawa, Brittney Davidson.

IgEquity  (Formerly ImmunoXX+)

Mission Statement:
Our goal is to address and remove the barriers and biases standing in the way of gender equity in Immunology at the University of California, San Francisco. We recognize that intersectionality is vital for building an inclusive and empowering environment, which is why we are committed to centering the needs and voices of women and non-binary underrepresented minorities (URM). Over time, we believe our mission and values will create equal opportunity and representation across all academic levels in immunology research.

Key Initiatives:
• Building Communities that support, empower, and elevate voices of women and non-binary scientists while fostering connections between faculty, fellows, and trainees. We host an annual Women in Immunology Symposium, local networking/social hours and luncheons, and we plan to facilitate Restorative Justice Community Circles.
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• Advocacy and Transparency of opportunities, policies, and dismantling of gender-based discrimination and baises. We will secure resources for more women and non-binary scientists to participate in UCSF IRACDA Scholars Program and Path to Postdoc. Currently, we host an annual Gender, Diversity, and Inclusion Strategy Session and we are working with experts to facilitate trainings on Addressing Biases and Understanding Intersectional Identity and Privilege. We will also work with the ImmunoDiverse Community to curate and publish an ImmunoX Consensus and Annual Progress Report.
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• Mentoring and Outreach to local schools, organizations, and academic institutions across the Bay Area for women and non-binary scientists interested in pursuing immunology research. We plan to launch a virtual Immuno+ Mentorship Program that prioritizes support and resources for predominantly URM high schools students, undergrads, and post-grads. We will continue facilitating mentorship of UCSF trainees and fellows through the UCSF Connect online community. Additionally, we will continue outreach efforts at the Bay Area Science Festival Discovery Day.

Tiers of commitment:
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1. Immuno+ Allies: Anyone with a vested interest in learning about, participating in, and/or supporting our initiatives (sign-up via listserv)
2. Immuno+ Leadership: Ideating, spearheading, and communicating initiatives

• Trainee Leadership Team (Postdocs, Graduate Students, or SRAs):
• Directors: Responsible for ensuring execution of initiatives and main points of contact with the ImmunoDiverse Community. Team of three maintain this role while mentoring a new cycle of executive leaders.
• Committee Leaders: Responsible for moving key initiatives forward. Team includes Breanna Allen, Casey Beppler, Jeremy Brooks, Jessica Cortez, Sophia Guldberg, Lisiena Hysenaj, Gabi Reeder, Jennifer Umhoefer, and Jackie Yee.
  
  1. Executive Directors include Camillia Azimi, Tara McIntyre, and Casey Burnett.
  2. Deputy Directors (mentees): Erin Huiting, Rachel DeBarge, Julie Garcia.  
• Faculty Leadership Team: Tiffany Scharschmidt (call for additional faculty leaders with ImmunoX census)

3. Immuno+ Donors

Join the Initiative

If you are interested in learning about DEI issues and/or helping to address DEI in ImmunoX and at UCSF and beyond, please click here.This form will allow you to express interest in either 1) signing up to receive information on our programs or 2) sign up to join the ImmunoX DEI Allies Organization.The ImmunoX DEI Allies Organization is a group that meets regularly to:

• Share resources they found to self-educate and collectively engage in actions for structural change of our community
• Use our voices to demand structural change in our institution and call out panels and committees that are not inclusive
• Learn the importance of engaging in anti-racism, speaking out for URM voices, and how to become an ally
• Acknowledge complicity and privileges